History Today

History Today is a monthly magazine published by History Today, Ltd. Founded in 1951, it is owned by Andy Patterson and has a circulation of roughly 30,000 subscribers. Headquarters are based in London, England.The magazine, which is geared towards teachers, students, and those with an interest in history, publishes essays written by some leading history scholars covering myriad periods, regions, topics, and themes in history. It is available in print and online.The print version was founded by Brendan Backen, who worked as the Minister of Information during World War II. He was also the publisher of the Financial Times. Currently, both print and online versions are published under the vision and guide of editor-in-chief, Paul Lay.History Today offers readers articles ranging from atomic medicine to the rise and fall of empires. Each essay comes with illustrations selected by picture editor Sheila Corr. The web edition includes a news digest from web editor, Kathryn Hadley.Subscribers can buy an annual subscription for either the web or print version. Web subscribers can also purchase access to articles from the publication's archives dating back to 1980. The magazine also has a sister publication, History Review, which is aimed at students and is published three times each year.

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Articles from Vol. 47, No. 4, April

A Grosz Cabaret

When asked why he left Germany in 1933, the German Modernist painter . George Grosz (1893-1959) replied with rare understatement `I left because of Hitler. He is a painter too, you know, and there didn't seem to be room for both of us in Germany.'...

* Few people in the world were aware of the existence of Belarus until the so-called `referendum' of November 1995 that completely destroyed the remnants of parliamentary democracy that had existed in the country since the collapse of the Soviet Union...

Gordon Marsden looks at how a Passion portrayal by one of the Middle Ages' most enigmatic painters, unlocks the door to the intense world of late medieval religious devotion. Of all the religious art that survives from Northern Europe in the late...

The victory of Charles V outside Leipzig at Muhlberg over the forces of his rebellious Protestant princes, marked a high-point for the Habsburg emperor in his life-long attempt to maintain his authority in Germany as a loyal Catholic ruler in the...

* As the 7th Earl of Cardigan set himself to lead the Light Brigade at Balaclava in the most famous cavalry charge in history, he muttered: `Here goes the last of the Brudenells.' Someone had certainly blundered, but it was no decision of his and,...

Historians addicted to the notion of circularity in events and fashions may be intrigued by what is happening in Manchester. For a start, the winning scheme to rebuild the chunk of the city centre ravaged by last summer's IRA bomb is strong on what...

We publish below the winning entry of the Longman/History Today Essay Prize, answering the question: `Is 1990s history still too much his-tory and not enough her-story? How far should historians take into account political correctness and past injustices...

Onward Christian Socialists? Mark Bevir takes a timely look at a little-known phenomenon that was part of turn-of-the century radicalism in Britain. The conference held in Bradford in 1893 to form the Independent Labour Party (ILP) met in a disused...

In August 1099, al-Harawi, the chief Qadi of Damascus, preached a sermon in the Great Mosque in Baghdad: `Your brothers in Syria have no home other than the saddles of their camels or the entrails of vultures'. Al-Harawi was surrounded by a throng...

The outbreak in April 1797 of mutiny in Britain's Channel fleet based at Spithead, outside Portsmouth, triggered off a wave of disaffection in the Royal Navy that ranked as perhaps the most serious crisis of an `annus horribilis' for the British Government...

In the first of our mini-series on the Nazis and social culture, Lisa Pine looks at how lessons in the classroom were perverted in the service of the Third Reich. Whilst most governments seek, or have sought, to imbue their nation's youth with...

The Cistercian Monks who arrived in England `rejoicing in their poverty' in the first half of the twelfth century had few earthly goods but they appreciated fine architecture and glorious landscapes. The severe, unadorned soaring abbeys they built,...

Spring Books: Our Seasonal Round-Up of the Latest History Titles from the Publishing World Catering for the General Reader and Specialist Alike

Archaeology and Ancient Legend Has the computerisation of archaeology led to the final unravelling of ancient legends? This is one of several questions raised in new titles this season in a field where scientific development is apparently allowing...

On Tuesday, June 7th, 1099, the First Crusade arrived before the city of Jerusalem and began a siege which would end with its capture on Friday July 15th. It was a moment of great rejoicing in the crusader host. because Jerusalem was the Holy Place...

* How much do mistakes matter? History has to start with facts and it is tempting to say that you can get no further if you get them wrong. Yet there is almost no error-free historical writing outside the narrowest of monographs. Among the hundreds...

* Fifty-one years after the air raids of 1945, 1996 was a further landmark in the history of Dresden. Rebuilding of the great Baroque Frauenkirche, destroyed in the raids took visible shape and the reconstructed crypt was opened for worship and concerts....